Nobody saw a second-round knockout of Anderson Silva coming, besides maybe Chris Weidman.
And after Weidman's stunning KO on Saturday night at UFC 162, it didn't sound like Silva saw a rematch coming.
Asked if he wanted a rematch against Weidman, Silva said, “Chris is the champion. Chris is the best. That’s it. I’m not fighting for the belt.”
Asked if that meant that Silva no longer would compete for the title, he was even less clear, saying that he needed to respect his family but also that he would not be retiring. Huh?
The 38-year-old Silva (33-5) was riding a 17-fight win streak and heavily favored to defeat 29-year-old up-and-comer Weidman (10-0) in the UFC 162 Middleweight Championship, and you could tell that Silva knew exactly how favored he was. Silva did not look like a man who would be willing to acknowledge somebody else as world champion, as he taunted, showboated, and just downright disrespected his opponent to the point where it did not even look like Silva believed Weidman had the ability to punch him as hard as he did.
Taunting is all fun and games when you end up winning the fight, but when you get knocked out cold while doing it in the second round? That is a little harder to forgive.
Still, UFC president Dana White said: “I guarantee you there is nothing I want more than a rematch with Chris Weidman."
Silva, however, said first he needs “three to four months” off before he decides what’s next.
“I've defended this title for a long time and now I need to take some time off for myself,” he said.
Is this the last we see of Silva? Were his brains still scrambled from Weidman's punch? Who knows. It didn't sound like Silva knows himself.
